In many sports, the hands of participating players are highly susceptible to injury during play. A hand injury not only can cause severe pain, discomfort and disruption in the personal life of the player, but also can sideline that player for an entire season, hampering development and performance for that player in the sport. Such injuries impact team performance as well by denying the services of the player to the team. For the amateur player, a hand injury impedes playing time and thus skill development at all ages. In professional sports, hand injuries can have a dramatic effect, such as a negative economic impact on the injured player, as well as on the team of that player. For instance, the team may have to bear the added expense of paying for the services of a replacement player. In addition, if the player is exceptionally skilled in the sport a forced absence due to injury of the player may affect the overall team performance, which in turn could well affect game attendance, playoff chances, fan support, and the financial reward for all.
More specifically, individuals engaging in baseball or fast pitch softball recreational activities frequently are injured when struck by a ball. Such injuries occur most often while batting or while playing the catcher position; in both cases a pitched ball causes the injury. Historically, pitchers have developed pitches intended to fool a batter into thinking the ball will not enter the strike zone, but which actually curve or “move” into the strike zone at the last moment. With the refinement of sophisticated pitching techniques and greater athletic skill, present pitchers are throwing balls faster (80 to 100 miles per hour), and with more movement (such as the so-called curveball, slider, sinker, palmball, knuckle, rise ball, drop ball etc., some moving 12 inches or more), thus requiring both the batter and the catcher to watch the ball very closely after it is released by the pitcher.
Many solutions are currently known for protecting the backs of players' hands and fingers during batting. For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,712 Hansen et al. disclose a protective batting glove having a cushioned shield engaged to the glove proximate to the back of the hand of an individual, such that the shield is concealed to provide the appearance of a conventional non-protective batting glove. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,898,938 Baylor et al. disclose gloves including a shock absorbing material in a pad that overlies the area of greatest injury risk on the hands of a batter.
Similarly, a number of solutions are known for protecting the palms of players' hands during catching of a pitched ball. For instance, in Canadian patent 2,115,026 Mah discloses a partial glove including a thin layer of impact absorbing material disposed adjacent a palm portion of the partial glove. The partial glove is worn under a catching glove and provides a measure of protection to the palm and heal portion of the wearer's hand. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,772 Cheek discloses a protective device including a padded catching panel and flexible back panel, the device designed to be worn under a catching glove. The catching panel is intended to minimize pain and reduce the instances of injuries caused by a ball being caught at great velocities.
Unfortunately, none of the heretofore-mentioned solutions protects the ends of the fingers from axial trauma, often referred to simply as “jamming injuries.” These types of injuries may result when a pitched ball with high velocity curves sharply downward (i.e. drop ball pitch) and strikes the ends of a catcher's fingers. Due to the nature of the catcher's equipment, jamming injuries occur most often in fast pitch softball recreational activities, although similar injuries are seen in players of other sports. Jamming injuries can result in serious damage to the ligaments of the fingers, most often causing stretching or partial tearing of the ligament or its bone attachment point. Ligament sprains must be treated with immobilization followed by physical therapy to regain normal range of motion, while ligament tears require surgery.
It would be advantageous to provide a device that overcomes at least some of the above-mentioned limitations.